Polishing machine



Sept. l5, 1936. H. c. ARGE Er AL PoLIsHING MACHINE Filed May 25, 1934 iig-;

Patented Sept. l5, 1936 UNITED STATES POLISHING MACHINE Hans Christian Arge and Herman Tischer, New York, N. Y.

Application May 25, 1934, Serial No. 727,478

3 Claims.

.The invention refers to polishing machines, in particular to such machines, which are adapted to do polishing or similar preparatory work on larger, more or less flat surfaces, such as for instance, ceilings, floorings and walls in buildings, and also larger pieces of furniture, automobile bodies, and other similar work in different industries.

The hand-polishing of larger articles or larger surfaces is extremely tiresome and diiiicult work. There are already known devices or tools for carrying out part of such polishing work automaticallyl by machines, some of such polishing machines or tools comprising a polishing pad at the end of a exible rotating shaft, which pad the workman may apply to different places on the surface to be polished. The polishing machines ordevices of this kind can Work only on a very smallpart of the surface fat a time, and furthermore there are limits asto their usefulness, owing to the fact, that the disk-shaped rotating pad cannot be applied into hollow corners of the room or article to be treated.

The object of the present invention is to provide a comparatively simple but nevertheless extremely eiiicient polishing device or polishing machine, which is adapted to do the polishing or similar Work in the above said different fields of its application. In this respect it is an essential point of the present invention, that the machine or device of my design will carry out the greater part of the movements of the polishing pads in an automatic manner, so that the Workman has only to direct the polishing tools proper to those points which need the treatment, but he has not to carry out any longer the extremely tiring quick rubbing movements of sanding, polishing or other working on the workpiece.

It is further the object of the present invention, to provide a polishing machine or polishing device, in which the tools proper for treating the workpiece may be exchanged easily and such special tools may be inserted, which fit the particular kind of work to be done.

Furthermore it is an important feature of my new and improved polishing machine or device, that it can do polishing work not only on flat surfaces, such as slabs or the walls of buildings, but likewise on more or less curved or uneven surfaces, such as they are for instance on the body and other parts of automobiles. The polishing tool machine or device of the present invention may be adapted to the special needs of different industries, and to the working on different materials such as stone, wood, metal, etc. In particular this new device for polishing and similar work may be a portable hand-tool to be carried about and to be pressed against the article to be treated, or it may be a temporary or permanently stationary fixture on the working bench in a work- 4I'S shop. The mechanical power applied to the polishing or other tools may be supplied by an electric motor provided on the device itself, or by a flexible shaft or any other suitable transmission from any stationary source of energy. These 10 and other features of the invention will become more clear in the course ofthe following detailed description of some preferred embodiments of my invention; this detailed description having reference to the accompanying drawing, in which: 1

Figures 1 to 4 show a preferred embodiment; Fig. 1 being a longitudinal section; Fig. 2 a partly sectioned end-view; Fig. 3 being a top-view, and Fig. 4 being a bottom view of the polishing machine. Y

Referring now in particular to the first embodiment of the invention, I I is an approximately rectangular flat casing, containing the main parts of the gearing and closed at its lower side by the cover or lid I2. Opposite to the lid, the top of 25 the casing I I is provided with handles for the device, these handles being fixed with four legs I3 at the four corners of the casing, and having two hand-grips I4, extending longitudinally over the casing II, whereas the middle part between the two grips I4 is formed by a ring or clamp I5, which embraces the electric motor I6. 'I'he shaft of this electric motor extends into the casing II and carries a small pinion I1, which pinion, by means of the two intermediary gears I8, drives the 35 two big toothed wheels I9. The lid or cover I2 at the lower side of the casing I I is provided with two long slots 2U extending from two diagonally situated corners of the casing along the longer sides of the lid or cover for about one-half of its length.

These slots 20 serve as guideways, in which the carriers of the polishing tool may reciprocate, each carrier being actuated by a connecting rod 2|, the two ends of which rod 2l are pivoted to the tool carrier and to the pin 22 on one of the two toothed wheels I9 respectively. Each tool carrier, as shown in the Fig. 1, consists of a slightly conical truncated block 23, the upper end of which reaches through the slot 20 and it is pivoted to the connecting rod 2|, so that the rotation of the wheel I9 will cause the reciprocating sliding movement of the tool 23. The lower end of the tool carrying block 23 forms a double-shelled thrust-bearing for the ball-shaped head 24 and for the stem of the tool holder, the flat foot plate 25 of which tool holder carries the preferably exchangeable polishing pad 26 of rectangular shape. The ball-joint connection 24 between the tool carrier 23 and the polishing tool 26 allows this tool to adjust itself automatically to the surface of slightly curved work-pieces, such as, for instance, an automobile body, and to change its adaptingY inclination anyy moment,

whilst the tool ismoved over the-curvedsurfaceY of the work-piece. A spirally coiled spring 21.,

abuts with its two ends against the tool-'holder plate 25 and the foot of the tool carrier 23 respectively, so as to secure a perfect Contact, lrietvileen.`

the whole face of the pad 26 and the ,work-piece to be treated. It has been found, that the working of*- this coiled spring 21 is most satisfactory, if it does not make circular turns, but turns,,whiczh-zhave,y

is indicated in,

the shape of flattened loops as it Fig. 1.

From the foregoing description ofthe vparts the use and operation. ofl thisv polishing, tool Will loe easily understoodtofbe .as follows: Electrical cur'- rent, fed from a suitable source ofv energy 'throughv theCable-ZS-to.theV electric motor II,-,Wi1lV causerotation of the pinion IIf keyed tofthev motor I 6',-

and thisV rotative movement is transferred to the two-toothed Wheels;` I9. Thefeccentric pin, 22 fon. each toothed wheel anditheconnecting rod- 2I pivoted to it change this srotatingmovement of theV wheels I9 into a `longitudinally reciprocatingmovement of-the too1-carrier23 along its'slot 2U. Therefore the twopolishingpads-26. Willca-rry outV reciprocating movementsV` on the; Work-piece against; which they are pressed, andvv the work man has-only-to hold thewhole deviceY at the grips I 4. and gto press` it slightlyY against Vthe workpiece. Ifthe surface of the-workpiece to be treated,;is vrather large, the workmanmoves the whole device by the grips I4 slightly over the Whole surfaceof the Work-piece, thuscovering by and by the whole surface of this work-piece Vand carrying out the polishing or other treatments of it.

We claim:-

l. A machine for carrying out polishing and similar work, comprising in combination: a rectangular at boxlike frame; an electric motor mounted centrally on the top of the said frame; a. motorshaft extending, intof the said boxlike frame; two handles'extending'lengthwse over the top of the said frame from the middle of the motor-housing to opposite ends of the frame; two large Wheels in the boxlike frame at the two sides; respectively of the motorshaft; gearings connectingthe said .shaft with the said wheels; a lid1covering the open side of the boxlike frame; two slotted guideways in the lid, extending along the -two2longerfsides :of the lid from two diagonal cornersto beyond the middle of the length of the lid; blocks mounted slidably within said guideways; ,pins in the saidwheelsfand connectingl rods between` the pins=and=thesaid blocks; anditool-V carrying; means lonthe said-blocks, adapted tolbe setinto any. inclinationto thefbasicplane offthe machine.'v

2.',A` machine as claimed in claim 1, inwhlch` the outer5 ends ofthe two-handles branch intenTV 

